Tailgate parties, the rage in parking lots… All I know is… when people are all drinking from cans and it’s all about beer, just hand over the equal packaging opportunity in wine, thank you very much. And convenient: no wine openers needed or glass to lug around. And, according to Nielsen ratings

2016: U.S. sales of wine in cans totaled $14.5 million during 2016. This was a surge of 125 percent over 2015.

2017, May 2: “U.S. canned wine sales keep growing and is up 155 percent in dollar sales, and 190 percent in volume.”

I’m NOT a beer person. Never have been, and never will be. It smells like skunk and tastes like it too, on my palate. The scourge of a super palate. Some think I’m being elitist, when I say I have one. Quite the contrary. It’s no blessing to have an overabundance of taste buds. Everything gets amplified… It’s like going to a Motley Cru concert, when you’d prefer to be at ELO.

So, if I’m at a sporting event – like a tailgate…

Hand me the canned wine, si vous plait

And, I have some great suggestions for you. First, size matters: Cans have a couple of convenient sizes.

The small ones are equivalent to a one and a half glass of wine at 187 ml.

The larger ones are good for two and a half glasses; a half bottle of wine at 375 ml, where a bottle of wine is 750 ml (five glasses).

Cans on my radar screen

Tangent Wines from Edna Valley

Fresh. Crisp. Vibrant. Yes, they are.

Owned by the Niven Family Wine Estates, they took on “one of the world’s greatest explorations of cool climate (Edna Valley), alternative white wines from a single vineyard.” And they’ve focused on creating refreshing, easy-drinking wines that are also complex. Their wines are all made with estate fruit grown on their family’s Paragon Vineyard in Edna Valley. Tangent is now selling a Rosé and a Sauvignon Blanc in cans, and they’re totally delicious. I only had to go as far as the pool to enjoy them this summer. I do foresee how cool they’d be at tailgate parties… Wine gone sports is easy when the wine is in a convenient can.

2016 Tangent Sauvignon Blanc

375 ml

Clean, crisp, and so refreshing, who knew this could translate over so well into a wine can? I loved this Sauvignon Blanc’s green apple flavors, with hints of lemon… It was very easy to enjoy. If you like Saugivnon Blanc on the lean side, this one is for you. I like the care that this family has devoted to their wine brands. They’re located in Edna Valley, a very cool AVA in California; so, the wines are going to have more acidity. I prefer acidity over alcohol, so they fit right into what’s going to make me happy to taste. They’re more delicate, less rich…

2016 Tangent Rosé Wine

375 ml

A medium bodied Rosé, it has delicious floral notes, with restrained plum-fruit flavors. The 2016 Rosé is made with Albariño, Viognier, with a bit of Pinot Noir, Grenache, and Syrah. This blend wasn’t easy for me to decipher, because of red and white grapes all coming together in one blend… A true concoction that worked really well, still left a lot of mystery in the process of “guess the varieties used” except to say, yummy!

Tìamo Wines

Winesellers, Ltd. has introduced two varieties of Tìamoorganic wines in a can. Perfect for tailgates and fall camping trips, consumers can sip organic white and rosé wines from the Italian producer. And, they’re available as individual cans or packs of four. “Tìamo is an innovative and modern brand produced sustainably from organic grapes, a perfect match for the canned wine format that promotes common sustainable attributes, like lightweight packaging and efficiency in recycling,” explained Todd Nelson, Marketing and Communication Manager for Winesellers. “Tìamo organic White and Rosé are ideal for this application and entry into the emerging canned wine category.”

2016 Tìamo White Wine

375 ml

Tìamo White Wine ~ Grillo ~ How’s that for a white variety? It’s not the happy, every day-every way grill out back. (Pronounced GREE-lo) It sounds firm, and it’s refreshingly all that. Riddu and/or Rossese bianco (other names) is a white Italian wine grape variety, which withstands high temperatures.It’s also widely used in Sicilian wines.

2016 Tìamo Rosé Wine

375 ml

Tìamo Rose Wine ~ Montepulciano ~ And, what about this red wine gone rogue? I just love saying it.. Mon-te-pul-ci-AN-o… This is the primary grape in the Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita wine Offida Rosso. It makes a really lovely rosé, whether you’re headed to the beach, around a pool – a lot safer than glass picnic lunches in a quiet meadow.

Bollicini

Bollicini Brut and Rose – These single serving cans of Italian sparkling wine are light, crisp, and refreshing! Combine that with the convenient and attractive packaging – and you’re the true star at the next tailgate! The parent company is Mionetto USA. I’m going to have more of their wines to talk about at a later date. For now, it’s their oh-so-cute cans.

From their site: Mionetto USA, the United States subsidiary of Henkell & Co. Gruppe, was founded in 1997. Mionetto USA began with the introduction of the Mionetto family’s portfolio of fine sparkling wines to the United States, with the mission of establishing the prosecco category. Mionetto USA has grown to become the importer for one of the leading prosecco brands and ranks among the fastest growing premier wine importing companies in the United States.

NV Bollicini Sparkling Cuveé

187 ml

A blend of Trebbiano, Pinot Bianco, and Chardonnay, this wine has stone fruit flavors of peach and apricot, that were really refreshing in a Southern Belle sort of way. Honestly, this was my first sparkling wine in a can experience. Not knowing what to expect, it was actually a lot of fun. A cold can, a hot, hot 100 degree day, and a sparkling wine. What could go wrong? Well, nothing did. It was totally fun, completely delicious, and left me craving more. So, I opened the Sparkling Rosé

NV Bollicini Sparkling Rosé

187 ml

Trebbiano, Pinot Nero, and Lambrusco~ More typical with strawberry flavors. Trebbiano is an Italian wine grape, one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world, and yet most people don’t even know it exists in the US. Pinot Nero is Italian for Pinot Noir… Got this one, right? Lambrusco is a grape variety, and many of us know it as “Lambrusco, the bubbly red wine.” Added to this Rosé and it’s right at home. The melange of this wine is superb. As refreshing as the Cuveé, both of these wines are delightful and will bring endless fun at any party.

As I was ending my photo shoot a friend appeared. I showed him both cans and asked if he’d like to have some bubbly with his dinner. He said, “I’m headed to my mom’s 83rd birthday dinner.” I said, “Oh, take them to your mother. She’ll love them.” He said, “Yes, she will and the blue one will match her hair.” We both had a great giggle… It was fun to share. I’m sure she also got a great giggle for the tiny cans that contain so much fun in them.

Rubin Family of Wines

I’ve been working with Ron Rubin of the Ron Rubin Winery for five years, as of this coming October. Ron is also involved in The Republic of Tea. If you know the quality of that line of beverages, it gives you some insight into his wines, too. Ron is exacting, not for the sake of perfection, but for the sake of quality assurance. He’s traveled the world to learn about teas. He’s also doing the same with wine. And if there’s a window open for any innovation, what -so-ever, he’s going to find it… Heck, he’ll invent it if it’s not already in the works. He dares to dream, and does it in a very measured way.

So, when he got the bug for canned wines, the first thing he did was create “We Are California” wines. Cathy name, easy to enjoy. Convenient to carry, headed to outside events. Safety was also a critical factor, so his cans have a protective lining. I’m not going to create tasting notes for these wines, just know that I approve them all, and they are for you to discover the flavors. Get back to me with your thoughts. YOU can write the tasting notes.

Easy to remember names?

NV We Are California Chardonnay

187 ml

Everyone can identify with California. This is an off-dry wine, for the record.

NV We Are California Red

187 ml

Everyone can identify with California. Chill it and enjoy!

Family legacy

NV Pam’s Un-Oaked Chardonnay

187 ml

Next, he named one after his charming wife, calling the cans Pam’s Cuties. How could he not? These little cans are really adorable. He already had a Pam’s Un-Oaked Chardonnay, and that wine was the inspiration for also having Chardonnay in a can.

NV Ron’s Red (Blend)

187 ml

Followed by… Ron’s Red ~ For the record: This wine is a blend of Zinfandel, Syrah, and Merlot.

Disclosure: all canned wines were samples. I’ve also included our client Ron Rubin Winery’s canned wines. If it’s a client, I’ve not only endorsed the wines in order for the company to be a client, but I’ve also tasted the wines and approved of the quality.

4 Responses to “Wine Cans Continue To Come On Strong ~ And So Are the Tailgate Parties”

I hate to use this cliche’, but Ron Rubin really does “think outside the box”; so I’m not surprised to see him launch some interesting canned wines. And Tangent’s wine style nicely matches the cool and fresh attributes that canned wine MIGHT imply (time for some research on that). I’m tentatively bullish on the category; the key will be the rate of repurchasing, and whether it expands beyond certain occasions.

By the way, “skunk” in beer is specific fault, caused by UV light altering a certain hop-related compound, which binds with a sulfur molecule and produces 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol, which in turn smells like skunk. Beer bottled in green or clear glass is notorious for this. You shouldn’t encounter it in a good draft beer.

Christian, You’re so right about Ron Rubin. He’s totally outside the box in everything he does. Finally, someone who not only keeps up with me, but runs circles around me. Very inspiring.

Yes, Tangent was “cool and fresh.”

I’m also bullish on canned wines, because of their convenience. Once people have a canned wine in their hands and enjoy the contents, “What’s the big deal?” is answered… It took years for beer in cans to catch on. Keep tracking sales and in a few years, you’ll have a great comparison for how long it took for been and now what’s happened to wine in cans in the quicker adaptation of wine versus beer. Francis Ford Coppola began with “Sophia,” for his daughter. We all ignored it for years. All of a sudden, there’s an explosion with wine in cans, versus years of silent crickets. More wine companies than beer companies, for sure.(Another numbers aspect.) I suspect you’re already on it. I’ll go back to my research on how long it took for beer to finally make it to market and blog about it. Good topic.